The field of the disclosure relates generally to inspection systems, and, more particularly, to methods and systems for automatically inspecting an object.
Objects are often inspected to facilitate maintaining a desired level of quality and/or consistency. Many inspections are performed manually by a trained operator holding an inspection probe. For example, the trained operator may manually position the inspection probe in a plurality of inspection positions with respect to an object being inspected. Manual inspections, however, may be tedious and/or time consuming. To at least partially address these issues, some known inspection devices include a robot that operates based on a nominal path from computer-aided design (CAD) data. However, at least some known objects do not have relevant CAD data and/or are not consistent with the available CAD data. Accordingly, inspection of such objects generally requires iterative and manual adjustment of the inspection device to maintain a desired inspection path, which may be tedious and/or time consuming, particularly for complex surfaces that require a plurality of inspection positions.
The field of the present disclosure also relates generally to repairing damaged structures and, more specifically, to automated systems and methods of repairing damaged structures.
Recently, at least some known aircraft components have been fabricated from multi-layer laminate structures of non-metallic composite materials such as carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). The composite materials are used in combination with metallic materials, such as aluminum, titanium, and/or steel, to reduce the weight of the aircraft. Reducing the overall weight generally contributes to increasing the fuel efficiency of the aircraft.
However, common multi-layer laminate structures fabricated from CFRP may be susceptible to damage, such as from blunt force impacts during service or manufacturing. At least one known process of repairing damaged laminate structures is a flush bonded structural repair process that facilitates reducing the visibility of the structural repair. The process includes removing the damaged area from the structure forming a recess in the structure, and tapering the recess (i.e., scarfing) to provide improved load transfer in a repair patch used to fill the recess. Scarfing is a time-consuming and laborious process that is generally performed by trained technicians by hand. As such, structural repair processes that require scarfing are dependent on the skill and availability of the trained technicians. Moreover, the effectiveness of the repair patch must be verified via inspection techniques, which can be costly and laborious as well.